Comments Closed In Proposal To Increase Disability Reviews

Comments closed on January 31, 2020, for those who wished to address the proposed rule changes published on November 18, 2019, at 84 FR 63588, which seek to revise the frequency at which the Social Security Administration (“SSA”) conducts their continuing disability reviews (“CDR”).

One of the main features of the proposed changes to the regulations is that SSA would add a fourth category to the current medical review categories.  The current categories include Medical Improvement Expected (“MIE”), Medical Improvement Possible (“MIP”) and Medical Improvement Not Expected (“MINE”). The new category would be called, Medical Improvement Likely (“MIL”), and would allow SSA to review a claim every two years if the Administration designated that a claimant’s chance of medical improvement was likely.

 There is no doubt that reviews are a necessary part of the disability process. However, there are concerns that the new proposed category would allow SSA to prematurely review claimants’ cases and terminate their benefits before they were ready to return to work.  

Comments have been accepted and now we must wait to see if the proposed regulations are adopted.

Got a question about SSDI or SSI that you need us to answer? Please check out our website at www.westcoastdisability.com . We try to provide you with helpful information on our website that will allow you to successfully navigate the Social Security Disability process. Also, feel free to email me your questions at megan@westcoastdisability.com or call me at (800) 459-3017 x 103.